The Houston Astros optioned 1B Brett Wallace to Triple-A Oklahoma City Thursday, April 18, and recalled 3B Brandon Laird from Oklahoma City in a corresponding move. Laird was hitting .353 with a team-high 14 RBIs in 12 games with Oklahoma City.

Fantasy Tip: Like much of the rest of the Astros roster, Wallace struggled to make contact in the early going and was fanning way too often. Laird has nice power to all fields but also struggles with strikeouts and has poor plate discipline. It's unclear how Houston plans to use him, but his past success against lefties signals he may enter into a platoon with Carlos Pena at first base. Consider him in AL-only leagues.